I know the leafs cut Kasper Larsen late in training camp. Any chance of an Ahl deal there?
Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, if we can swing it. He is a higher upside Rubins.
Morrison, Hardie, and Rochette are the three most interesting to me, but I'm on the train of starting them with an AHL deal and graduating them if it makes sense
My only issue with Morrison is that his skating still sucks and hasn't really improved at all. I find it hard to believe that a player as smart as him does not know that his skating is well below-average and he has not worked hard to improve it, but it simply has not improved. Maybe a full time professional program can fix it but he'd need to improve his skating more than arguably anyone has before, and even if he does, I don't know what kind of role he fills in the NHL. He is not big or physical. His shot, hands, and playmaking ability are nothing special. He can make good reads and make the most out of his skill set, but I don't think he has enough of a skill set to really amount to anything.
If we can convince him on an AHL deal, then he may be able to become the center version of Hoefenmayer... Which is obviously not terrible.
I think my top 5 (if I exclude Vierling, De La Gorgendiere, and Rochette since I think the former 2 get ELC's and I wouldn't give them one while I think Rochette goes NLA before AHL if he doesn't get an ELC) would be Hayes, Hardie, Larsen, Fiddler-Schultz, and McClennon. There are others I would consider, but I think at that point I would just turn to the NCAA crop and look at some older guys who may need less work. We have to remember that the Marlies are going to be developing a ton of SPC 02's and 03's starting next year: Hirvonen, Niemela, Ovchinnikov, Kressler, Voit, and Tverberg. I'd rather make sure those guys had more resources than trying to make the most out of a weak UFA crop.
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